Cinders
by Goldenwriter16
Summary: Sixteen-year-old Bloom is considered a technical mistake according to society. But being a cyborg has it's benefits, for one thing it makes her the best mechanic in Eracklyon. That status draws Prince Sky to her in hopes of her fixing his android. She is derailed from helping him when her sister falls ill with plague and her stepmother volunteers her for plague research.
1. Chapter 1

**Ok so I first want to start off by saying that I have just recently reread Cinder, of the Lunar Chronicles. And I have also read another story called Mirror, Mirror. It's not finished by the way so don't get angry at me for mentioning it. So I wondered if this was in the Winx world. If you have read the Lunar Chronicles than you might like this story or not, and if you haven't I am sorry for future spoilers, because there will be some. Enjoy this chapter, and I really hope you like it. I also apologize for not posting anything in a while, including the story With or Without you. Incredibly sorry. Alright, so on with the story.**

 **I don't own Winx Club or some of the lines I used from the Lunar Chronicles.**

* * *

 _While her sisters were given beautiful dresses and fine shoes, Cinderella was only given a smock and wooden shoes._

* * *

The screw in her ankle had rusted, the engraved marks worn to a mangled circle. The rest of the screws were on the table, some rolled around after being placed on the table and others had already rolled underneath the desk. Bloom gritted her teeth as she forced the screwdriver to twist so that she could release this screw or get it out to the point where it wasn't an annoyance or that much of a problem. After a few more twists the screw was out, at least as far as she was willing to push it.

She tossed the screwdriver onto the table, the screwdriver kicking around some more screws and rolling to a stand-still a few moments later. Bloom used her prosthetic hand to grip her heel and yanked the foot off, causing it to spark ever so slightly in her fingers before it too was placed on the desk, with a little more care. Wires dangled from the end of the foot, some of the wires slightly singed from the abrupt pulling.

Bloom leaned back into her chair with a relieved sigh, the sense of freedom that came from the release of that four-year-old foot was something that surely felt amazing. A couple of warning texts appeared in her vision but she dismissed them, instead choosing to observe the people passing by her stall. Some gave her curious looks and others pulled their children away from her like she could infect them.

She was the only full-service mechanic in Eracklyon's market place. Despite there being no sign of what her trade was, the items inside of her booth hinted at it. Shelves of stock android parts lined a wall to the left of the entrance. Add to that the smell of grease and metal that some people picked up from her booth even though across from her was a bakery that always had some sweet aroma. People only complained because of what she was and they didn't like the idea of being near her.

Bloom drummed her finger idly on the stained tablecloth that separated her from browsers as they walked past. The market place was filled with a multitude of noises. The sound of children's laughter nearby, perhaps next to the water fountain in the center. Men as they bargained with androids to no avail to lower their prices. The hum of androids as they linked ID's to bank accounts and applied a charge when someone bought something.

Her audio interface dulled the noise to a general hum aside from the laughter of the children as they ran around, splashing at each other with water from the fountain. Their squeals could be heard all over the market place as other shopper stepped over them, some with annoyance in their eyes while some laughed at the childish wonder each child had. Bloom couldn't help her gaze from searching them out, their joy and excitement as they chased each other around in some sort of game.

"Jake!"

Bloom's amusement waned as she watched a woman push her way through the crowd of shoppers, a flour-coated apron wrapped around her waist. Martha Baker's eyes darted around in a desperate search for her son as said boy glanced up at her. He was soaked with water and had his hands in the water ready to splash some other participant of the game.

"Jake, get over here! I told you to not play so close to-" Martha met her gaze, knotted her lips together before grabbing her son's arm and dragging him through the crowd. The young boy whined but didn't try to run from his mother, glancing over to his friends who gave him pitying looks before they disappeared into the crowd, cheerful laughter following them as they went.

Bloom rolled her eyes, "I didn't know wires were contagious." She muttered sarcastically to her empty stall. She stretched slightly, trying to relax her muscles, before combing her hands through her hair and twisting it into a messy bun with a rubber band. She grabbed her stained gloves and slid them over her hands to hide her steel left hand before doing the same to her right hand. Even though her right hand began to sweat in the heat of the day it was better than having one more thing for people to stare at when they walked past. Bloom eyed the people who past, there were many androids but none of them Tecna.

She sighed, spotting the many screws that littered the floor, she cursed to herself before crouching down in what she knew was an odd position to pick up the screws. She placed them back into her toolbox, trying to keep it organized for the next occurrence. Bloom wiped a few of the tools off with a dirtied rag before snapping the thing shut.

THUD.

Bloom jerked her head, banging her head on the underside of the table and lifting herself out from underneath of the desk. She first glared at the lifeless android that sat on her desk and then the man behind it. She was met with startled sky-blue eyes and corn blonde hair that hung past his ears and covered a little bit of one eye and lips every girl in Eracklyon had dreamed about over a thousand times.

Her glare promptly vanished.

He first stared at her in short-lived surprise before he smiled apologetically, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm sorry." He said, peeking past her to see if anyone else would jump out at him and glare at him. "I didn't realize anyone was back there, much less underneath the desk." Bloom nodded her head blankly, even though she had barely heard him.

Her heartbeat had picked up in speed, and her retina display showcasing the thousands of times she had seen him before on the netscreens. He was taller than he appeared on those screens though, and was wearing a dark blue, almost black colored sweatshirt in place of his usual royal clothes. Another second and the display informed her of what she already knew, details scribbled across the bottom of her vision in a stream of green text.

 **PRINCE SKY, CROWN PRINCE OF ERACKLYON.**

 **ID #0000059471093**

 **BORN 20 MAR 108 T.E.**

 **FF 92,359 MEDIA HITS, REVERSE CHRON**

 **POSTED 14 AUG 126 T.E.: A PRESS CONFERENCE TO BE HELD 15 AUG 126 T.E. AT NOON TIME ERACKLYON TO DISCUSS THE PATH TO FINDING AN ANTIDOTE TO THE TEN-YEAR-OLD PLAGUE THAT MURDERS HUNDREDS OF CIVILIANS.**

Bloom blinked the information away, lurching awkwardly up from her chair, momentarily forgetting about her missing limb. Steadying herself by placing her hands on the table she managed something that resembled a bow. "You're highness." She stammered, lowering her head in respect, glad he couldn't see the fact that she was missing a limb with the long dark apron she had wrapped around herself to not dirty her clothes any further than they had already been dirtied.

The Prince flinched, casting a glance over his shoulder so that no one else had caught wind of their conversation. He leaned forward, "Maybe, um…" He held a finger to his lips, "On the highness stuff." He looked so desperate to hide his identity of being the prince that she forced her head to shakily nod. He smiled at her, revealing slight dimples, leaning back, "I'm looking for someone named Bloom."

Bloom raised a hand, "That would be me, what do you need?" She asked, averting her gaze from the prince and to the lifeless android that was currently being held up on her desk by being leaned against the cash register. The prince looked appalled, opening his mouth to say something but deciding to close it moments after, at a loss for words. It wasn't the first time someone had been shocked at her field of work, especially at such a youthful age.

"You're Bloom? The mechanic?"

Bloom nodded, "What do you need your highne-" She bit down on her lower lip to prevent the rest of the word from spilling out, remembering what he had asked for when they had gotten over the initial shock of seeing each other.

The prince bent down, forcing her gaze to meet his and flashed her a smile that made her heart squeeze, she forced herself to calm down, grateful that she couldn't blush because she knew if she could, she would be bright red. "You're not what I expected." He said, straightening up, forcing her eyes to follow him. He held her gaze, unlike many other people who would look away in disgust.

She bit her lip, trying not to stutter in response before regaining her composure, unable to hold his gaze. Bloom gently tugged the android to her side of the table and observed it slightly before glancing back up slightly, but she still didn't meet the prince's gaze. "What's wrong with the android, your highness." She couldn't resist adding the last part, it had slipped from her tongue since she had grown up in Eracklyon.

The android looked brand-new but from the mock-feminine shape she could tell it was an outdated model. The design was sleek, though, with a spherical head atop a pear-shaped body and a pristine white finish. The prince rubbed the back of his neck, tugging slightly on the sweater due to the immense and almost unbearable heat. "I can't get her to turn on." He said, watching as she observed the robot. "She was working fine one day, and then the next, nothing."

Bloom turned the android around so its sensor light faced the prince. She was glad to have some sort of task to do with her hands, because otherwise she knew she would become as flustered as anyone else would be with _royalty_ watching them. She observed the robot, trying to find some sort of flaw with the android, she furrowed her eyebrows. "Have you ever had any problems with her?" She inquired.

The prince shook his head, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "No. She gets routinely check-ups every other week, this is the first problem I have ever seen her really have."

Prince Sky leaned forward, picking up the discarded foot and observed the dangling wires, curiously turning it over in his palms. Bloom couldn't help but tense watching him look at something she had just disconnected from herself, could he feel how warm the limb was? She bit her lip watching as he fiddled with the toe joints of the leg. He used his right sleeve to polish a smudge that had been on the leg.

"Aren't you hot?" Bloom asked, instantly regretting asking the question as the prince returned his attention back to her. She couldn't help but to think of the numerous times she had almost blushed bright pink in the matter of five minutes and twenty-eight seconds. It was also due to the fact of how that question had sounded, hot being a term many girls had used to describe physical appearance.

The prince looked embarrassed as he tugged on his sweater, "Dying." He admitted, "But I'm trying to be inconspicuous." Bloom wanted to point out that the use of the sweater was drawing attention to himself, but by the lack of screaming girls crowding around her booth and trying to get to the prince suggested otherwise. He didn't look like a prince, had she not seen his face than she wouldn't recognize him. He kind of looked ridiculous, rather than looking like a royal heartthrob.

Bloom cleared her throat, redirecting her gaze to the android. She scanned the android, a blueprint appearing in the corner of her vision, directing her to the nearly invisible that hid the back panel. She popped the back-panel open and grabbed a small flashlight to seem less like a cyborg to the prince. "Why aren't the royal mechanics working on her?" She asked, not glancing up from her scan.

"They tried." He set the foot down gently, she barely heard it over all of the other noise but her audio interface didn't allow her not to. "But they couldn't find anything wrong with it. Someone suggested that I bring her to you." He continued to say, his footsteps indicating that he was observing the rest of the booth. The prince scanned the shelves stocked with android parts, netscreens, and cyborg parts. "They say you're the best mechanic in Eracklyon. I was expecting an old man." He laughed awkwardly.

"Do they." Bloom muttered under her breath, unamused with the statement. Bloom would never broadcast what made her so good at her field though. The less people who looked at her like a cyborg the better, it would be a million times worse if they all looked at her in disgust. She shrugged her shoulders, nudging a few wires aside with her pinkie, "Some old models tend to get worn out, have you considering upgrading to a new model?"

"I can't do that, she contains some top-secret information that I must retrieve before anyone else does." He said as Bloom glanced up at him, her fingers stalling in their search of the android. His lips lifted a bit, "Not really." He backtracked, "I just have a lot of sentimental value for her, that's all." An orange light appeared in the top corner of her vision, her optobionics had picked up on something. She wasn't sure what though, a too quick swallow, an extra blink, or even a twitch of the prince's jaw.

But what she did know was that the orange light was there for a reason. She was used to it, it came up all of the time. It meant someone was lying. "National Security." She said airily, narrowing her eyes ever so slightly. The prince had to have a reason for lying, she reasoned with herself and she was just the mechanic. "Funny." Bloom deadpanned.

The prince listed his head, as if he was daring her to contradict him, he was a prince after all and his word against her own was nothing, especially considering her circumstance. Bloom held his gaze but averted her own when a golden-colored hair fell in front of his face. Instead she focused on the android, turning it over slightly to see if she could find the model, the blueprints become slightly more prominent as she went back to using them.

"Tutor 9.3 model." She said reading the engraved marks on the back of the supposed 'head' of the android. The android was twenty-three years old to date along with a few extra months, her mind informed her. "She looks to be in pristine condition." Bloom said, before she lifted a fist and banged the android hard on the side of its head. Barely catching it before it toppled over the side of the table. "You'd be surprised by how often that works." She promised, watching as the prince jumped in response.

The prince chuckled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Are you sure you're Bloom? The mechanic?" Bloom bit her tongue, trying not to be sarcastic in response, he meant no offense. She reminded herself, and even if he did, it shouldn't matter, right? Dragon, what was wrong with her? She resisted the urge to sigh, she didn't like this feeling.

"Bloom! I've got it!" Tecna wheeled her way through the crowd, purple sensor flashing eagerly as she rolled around other people and androids alike. She placed another, longer foot onto the table excitedly, in the shadow of the prince's android. "It's a humongous improvement over the old one, only rarely used, and the wiring looks compatible as is. Plus, I was able to get the dealer down to 580 gems."

A moment of panic jolted Bloom as she picked up the leg and dropped it behind the desk. "Excellent job Tecna. Mathew will be pleased to have a replacement foot for his escort droid." She praised, lying through her teeth in the second sentence. She just didn't want the prince to look at her in disgust as everyone else did, but a dim voice in the back of her mind told her something else.

"Mathew? I don't understand." Tecna tilted her head to the side, her sensor dimming.

Bloom continued to smile through gritted together teeth, gesturing to the prince. "Tecna, please pay your respects to our costumer." She lowered her voice, giving Tecna a somewhat pointed look, "His imperial highness."

Tecna craned her neck, aiming the round, purple sensor at the prince, who towered over her by three feet and four inches. The sensor brightened slightly causing the prince to wince at the sudden brightness in his vision. "Prince Sky!" She exclaimed aghast at seeing the prince in their booth, Bloom knew that her mind was going a mile a minute trying to decipher why royalty was in their booth. "You are even more handsome in person." She stated factually.

Bloom felt her stomach twist in embarrassment despite the fact that the prince had laughed at the comment. Bloom rolled her eyes, gesturing to the area behind the desk, "Tecna, get behind the desk." Tecna huffed in an android way before rolling her way underneath the table and rolling a little further.

Prince Sky leaned against the desk, "You don't see a personality like that every day." He said, a nonchalance and calmness in his voice as if this was normal, as if this was a daily basis. "Did you program her yourself?" He asked as Bloom shook her head, a small smile playing on her lips.

"Believe it or not, she came that way. I suspect that she has a programming error which is why my stepmother got her so cheap."

"I do not have a programming error!" Tecna exclaimed from the back of the booth. Prince Sky laughed and Bloom met his gaze, accidently, feeling something strange rising inside of her at the sight of him laughing. She chastised herself, she needed to stop going down this path. The prince leaned back, still holding her gaze as he had done before.

"So, when can I come pick her up?" He asked as Bloom refocused on the task at hand, breaking the stare-down, and instead focusing on the inside of the back-panel, trying to poke her way through the jumble of wires to find something that could be cause of the android not waking up.

"Well, I'll have to run some diagnostics but it might take a couple of days or so, maybe a week." She bit her lip sitting down, grateful to give her human leg a moment of rest after standing awkwardly on it. Bloom knew she must be breaking some form of etiquette when in the presence of royalty but the prince didn't seem to be deterred by her sitting down.

"How much will it be to fix her?" The prince asked, taking his hands out of his pockets and instead resting them on the table, as he observed the gaze momentarily before returning his gaze back to her.

Bloom waved her gloved hand dismissingly, "Don't worry about it. It'll be my honor." Bloom said as the prince opened his mouth in protest, rolling up his sleeve slightly to reveal his arm holding his ID. Bloom leveled him with a look. "I mean it, don't worry about it." She repeated herself as he sighed and nodded.

"I suppose there is no changing your mind." He remarked as Bloom felt her body start to heat up but calmed herself down, she would rather not shut down right in front of the prince. "Is there any hope she'll be ready by the thousandths anniversary ball?" Prince Sky asked as she closed the back-panel of the robot, deciding to open it later when she was in a more secluded area.

"Well I'll have to run a few diagnostics which might take a day or so and then fix the actual problem which can range from a day to a week." Bloom thought aloud watching as the prince's expression sank into a less hopeful smile. "If there isn't that big of a problem than I think she'll be ready by then." She quickly said, the thousandths anniversary ball was next Saturday, so she had a total of nine days to fix the android. "How will I contact you when she's ready?"

"Just send a message to the palace. Or will you be here next week? I could stop by then." The prince informed her. Bloom tapped her chin thoughtfully, well, this was no place for a prince to be and what if he had too much to do and got in trouble for doing as he did. On the other hand, the palace was too vast and incredibly large, how would she even get into the palace and she wouldn't feel comfortable in a place that was disgusted by cyborgs as much as the rest of the world.

Tecna's sensor brightened behind her, where she had been idly eavesdropping in on the conversation, "Of course. We're here every market day, it would be lovely if you could stop by again." Tecna's voice said, in the second-to-highest voice she could manage according to her programming.

Bloom almost glared at her, "Oh, no. You don't have to-" She said waving her hands in a no manner. The prince smiled in response, raising an eyebrow slightly.

"I'm offended that you don't want to see me again." He winked, "It'll be my pleasure." The prince said standing up, pulling the hood even further over his face. Bloom returned the nod, knowing she should bow but she didn't want to risk standing up again. She waited until he disappeared from sight before scanning the crowd to see if his presence had been noticeable before relaxing in her seat, allowing her body to slouch over.

Tecna wheeled forward, "I can't believe the prince was here." She said, also scanning the crowd. "That's not something you see every day. Check my wires, I think I'm severely confused for the first time in a while." Tecna said after a moment of silence as Bloom nodded her head, almost wishing her wires were wrong to, Tecna turned to her sensor flashing over her. "Bloom, you have a grease smudge on your forehead."

"What?" Bloom exclaimed, reaching a glove hand up to touch her forehead as Tecna lifted up a piece of glass with one of her prongs and handed it to Bloom. Bloom gratefully accepted the glass as she observed the smudge. She groaned, facepalming. "Well that was just awful." She said before picking up her foot. "Now come on, help me get this on before anyone else important stops by." She said.

Tecna nodded her head, pulling her chair further away from the desk so that she could connect her new foot to the joints of her knee with the discarded screwdriver from earlier. For a moment, she wondered if the prince had been fooled by her, hoping he didn't notice the fact that she was missing a foot. "Fits like a glove, doesn't it?" Tecna stated.

"Yes." Bloom nodded her head, "I just hope that Vanessa doesn't notice that we bought it for 580 gems." She sighed at the thought of her stepmother, tightening the last screw before Tecna grabbed the screwdriver and left-over screws and placed them in her toolbox. Bloom took a moment to stretch her foot and wiggle her toes. It would take a few days before her nerve sensors harmonized with the updated wiring in the foot. "It's perfect." She said looking up, spotting Tecna holding her old foot with her prongs. "You can throw that old piece of junk awa-"

A blood-curling scream entered her ears before she even had a chance to adjust her audio interface and Bloom winced, covering her ears as she stood up. She walked around the table and to the front of the booth, finding that a crowd had formed around the front of the bakery. Bloom stood on tip-toes, spotting Martha Baker looking down at her own gloved hands in horror. A black and purple spot was just above the line of her glove and the tears that leaked out of her eyes showed that it wasn't just a bruise.

"The plague." A woman screamed, clutching her children and backing away from the scene. After that a mass of chaos occurred, woman's screams blended in with the thundering of footsteps of the people fleeing the area. Children were ripped from their games and dragged as far away as feet could take them. Bloom turned around as the prongs of Tecna clasped around her arm, covering her nose and retreating further into her booth.

Shopkeepers slammed shut their rolling doors adding onto the noise of utter panic. Jake screamed as he ran towards his mother but she only held her arms in front of her, telling him to stop. He stopped amidst the chaos, still staring at his mom as his mom's expression crumbled and more tears fell from her eyes. A nearby shopkeeper grabbed ahold of the boy and pulled him away from the scene as his mom yelled something after him but the words were loss in the uproar of the crowd.

Bloom bit her lip, she couldn't take Tecna or the prince's android out there, she would find out the name later, or they would both get trampled by the people out there. She held her breath and yanked her own steel rolling door down its rail. Darkness cloaked them except for a single light churning along the bottom of the steel door. Heat rose from the floor, stifling them in the uncomfortable warmth.

"Bloom?" Tecna said, worry in her robotic voice. Her sensor brightened, washing them both in the haze of the purple-colored light.

"It's ok Tecna, don't worry." Bloom said grabbing a grease-dirtied rag from the table, she slipped past her desk as Tecna followed her movements, joining her in the back. "She's all the way across the square. We're safe here." She said even though she continued walking towards the back and crouched against the back wall, in between shelves and covered her nose and mouth with the cleanest part of the rag.

Tecna stood in front of her, becoming a makeshift shield in case the plague had already spread to them. They stayed like that and waited until the rumbling and sirens of the emergency pod caused the ground to shake as it landed, coming to take Martha away.


	2. Chapter 2

_While her sisters were given beautiful dresses and fine slippers, Cinderella had only a filthy smock and wooden shoes._

* * *

The sirens and rumbling of the emergency pod hadn't faded long before the hum of a much-heavier engine rumbled into the market place. The market's silence had been disrupted with the feet thumping on the pavement and then someone spitting commands. Another person responding but their voice was lost to Bloom along with the mix of other noises. The muttering of people had been reduced to nothing but a general hum.

Bloom reached over to the desk, still holding the clean part of the dirtied rag over her nose and mouth, grabbing the old, hand-me-down messenger bag from atop the table. She slung it over her shoulder, only barely removing the rag. Bloom crawled out of her hiding place, Tecna moving slightly to allow her the space. She crept past the desk, grabbing ahold of the prince's android, wincing slightly at the noise before tip-toeing to the door. She lifted the small crack of the door up and squinted her eyes to get a better view.

From her view there were three, or four, sets of neon yellow boots, they were an emergency crew, her mind informed her and a few feet away from them sat the pod, the wheels of androids standing next to it. Bloom lifted the door up even more to get a better look, the androids were testing a few of the people who hadn't gotten away in quick enough time, being halted by the market androids. The difference being that these androids were more pristine and had a teal blue sensor rather than dark blue.

There were more people inside the building through, running around with oxygen masks and pouring a liquid containing a foul stench from a red can. Bloom wrinkled her nose at the stench, even though she was across the market. "What's going on?" Tecna inquired, not being able to look down and peek through the crack, the brightness of her purple sensor had faded ever so slightly so if someone looked back they wouldn't immediately notice that someone was there.

Bloom scanned the market, watching as the people were directed around before leaving the baker's shop after dousing it in the liquid. "They're burning Martha Baker's booth." She answered. Bloom continued to observe the scene of events playing out before her before pushing herself off the concrete ground. She peered into Tecna's dim sensor. "We'll leave when the flames start, while they're distracted."

Tecna hummed slightly, "Are we in trouble?" She whisper-asked, lowering her voice to as low as her programming allowed her to.

"Of course not. I just can't be bothered with a trip to quarantines right now."

"Ok." Tecna said in an unsure tone as Bloom refocused on the scene outside. Watching as one of the men spouted an order, followed by shuffling feet as the men inside of the place left, filing out one by one. The commander, the man who had shouted the order, grabbed a match from his pocket before lighting and tossing it into the booth. The place lighting up the minute the match made contact with the gasoline. The men's forms silhouetted against the growing flames.

Bloom clung tightly to the android, her knuckles whitening before she slid the door open enough to crawl through. She kept her eyes on the men though, watching to see if they, or the androids by the pod noticed any sort of movement. Bloom reached behind her and grabbed ahold of Tecna, pulling the robot along with her. Tecna darted over to the next booth, remaining against the steel doors as Bloom lowered her own door. They darted along the storefronts, most left open due to the massive amount of chaos and fear that had transpired in the matter of minutes.

Together, they ducked into the nearest alley between shops. Seconds later black smoke blotted the sky above them due to the increasing heat of the flames as the flames spread throughout the booth. Only moments later, hordes of news drones turned the corner in front of them and raced over their heads in a desperate attempt to get the flames on film and to broadcast the outbreak to the rest of Eracklyon and any other country that would listen. Bloom continued to glance behind her, seeing if anyone was following them as they ran from the scene.

She only slowed down when they had put enough distance between them and the market, emerging from the maze of alleys. Overhead the sun was lowering, almost disappearing from view from the skyscrapers that leapt into the sky. The air was swathed in a warm heat, an occasional breeze rustling through Bloom's hair and picking up whirlwinds of garbage that had been littered.

Four blocks from the market, life resumed on the streets as people walked down sidewalks and hovercars traveled speedily down the road. Pedestrians were gossiping on the sidewalks about the plague outbreak in the central market place. Large and small screens alike were showcasing and broadcasting different angles of the burned remnants of the large fire that had stifled out the bakery. "All those sticky buns gone to waste." Tecna said as they passed a close-up of the burned remains.

Bloom bit her lip, neither of them had ever sampled the acclaimed delectable sweets from the market bakery. Tecna didn't have taste buds and Martha didn't serve cyborgs. For a second she wondered what those sweets might have tasted like, not that she had tasted many sweets in her memory since she was eleven. Her stepmother didn't like giving her sweats and while Crystal had snuck her some, that had stopped when Vanessa had found out.

Towering offices and shops alike gradually melded into messy assortments of apartment complexes, built so close together that they became an unending stretch of glass and concrete. Perhaps at some point when these apartments had been newer, they wore more spacious and more appealing but had been so subdivided and remodeled over time-more people being crammed in the same square footage-that the buildings had become labyrinths of corridors and stairwells.

But the ugliness of the crowded buildings was briefly forgotten as Bloom turned the corner onto her own street. For a minute, the palace of Eracklyon could be seen, golden walls glimmering under the sun's light, red roofs becoming more vibrant and windows glinting light back into the city. Bloom paused and to look at the small view of the palace, the ornate pavilions teetering close to the edge of the cliff and walls stretching to the heavens. She thought more about it, she had always known a certain someone lived there but now she had actually met him and that filled her with an emotion her sensors couldn't detect.

Although in this moment, she felt a smug delight at the fact that she had met the prince. Face to face. He had talked to her. He knew her name. He had come to her booth over any other booth there. Sucking in a breath of humid air she continued to walk, feeling childish. She was going to start acting like Crystal if she kept this up. She shifted the royal android to her other arm as she and Tecna ducked beneath the overhang of the Dragon Tower apartments. Bloom flashed her freed wrist at the ID scanner and heard the clunking of the lock as it opened.

She pushed the gate open and walked towards an entrance going into the basement. Tecna using her arm extensions to clomp down the stairs as they descended into the murky underground part of the complex containing a dim maze of storage spaces, piled next to each other in whatever fashion so the walkway was tiny. Tecna turned on her floodlight, illuminating their area and dispersing many shadows that had formed. Bloom continued down the familiar path from the stairwell to storage space 16-22, the cramped and always chilly cell that Vanessa allowed Bloom to use for her work.

Bloom pushed aside a few things on the large piece of wood she called a desk and placed the android on top of it. She draped her messenger bag over the uncomfortable chair she had got from the junkyard and swapped her heavy gloves for much more suitable and less dirty cotton ones. "If Vanessa asks, we're nowhere near the bakery." Bloom said as she locked the door of their cell before making their way to the elevator.

Tecna hummed in response, "Noted." She said after a minute, her light flickering slightly. Bloom clicked the up button on the elevator and waited for the light above the doors to ding as the door opened. She stepped in, Tecna following after her and pressed the button for the sixteenth floor. They were alone and undisturbed in the elevator before the doors dinged again as they slid open on their floor.

The hallway was busied, filled with kids chasing each other around and parents talking in scolding tones. Some looking at her in disgust while some were friendlier towards her. There was the occasional stray cat that slinked along the wall as the two walked towards their apartment. Bloom adjusted her audio interface so that the noises were reduced to a soft hum, dodging children on her way as Tecna wheeled after her.

The door to the apartment had been left open and Bloom had to check the room number to make sure it was their actual apartment before she walked into the apartment. She heard Vanessa's stiff voice before she even entered the living room area. "Lower the neckline for Crystal, she looks like an old woman." Vanessa's stiff voice carried throughout the apartment. Bloom closed the door gently behind her before walking in the direction of the living room.

She peered around the corner. Vanessa was standing with one hand on the mantel of the holographic fireplace, wearing a daisy-embroidered bathrobe that blended in with the assortment of fans on the mantel. Her face was shimmering with too much powder and her lips painted horrifically bright pink and her dark brown hair braided into a bun. It almost looked like she was planning to go somewhere, despite rarely leaving the apartment. If she noticed Bloom loitering in the doorway she ignored her.

The screen above the mantel broadcasting the earlier breakout of the plague in the market, some woman speaking into a microphone and wearing a solemn expression. The woman continued to speak, even though the volume of the screen had been lowered to the point where her voice was barely audible, pointing towards the rubble of the bakery and the skeleton of the oven.

In the center of the room Diaspro and Crystal were both swathed in rich silk and tulle. Crystal was holding up her dirty-blonde hair while a woman, probably the seamstress, Bloom didn't recognize fidgeted with the neckline of her dress. Crystal caught her gaze over the woman's shoulder and her blue eyes sparkled, a glow bursting across her face as she gestured to her dress with a barely silenced squeal.

Bloom grinned back. Her younger stepsister looked angelic, her dress shimmering silver with subtle hints of rich sapphire blue when caught in the light of the fire from the holograph just behind her. "Diaspro." Vanessa gestured to her eldest daughter, twirling her finger as Diaspro twirled around, showcasing the red quartz stones along her waist. Her dress matched Crystal's with its snug bodice and flouncy skirt, only it was made of a rich red fabric and sparkled with gold stardust. "Let's take in her waist some more."

The woman threaded a pin through Crystal neckline, startled for a minute at seeing Bloom in the doorway before continuing her task. Stepping back and taking the pins out from between her lips, the woman tilted her head to the side, observing the waist of the dress. "It's already very snug." She said after a moment of observation. "We want her to dance, right?" She inquired.

"We _want_ her to find a husband." Vanessa said frostily.

"No, no." The woman tittered to herself, even as she walked over and pinched the material around Diaspro's waist. Bloom could tell that Diaspro was sucking in her stomach from the faint lines of her ribcage that were barely noticeable through the richness of the red fabric. "She is far too young for marriage." The woman said after a moment, wincing slightly as she tightened the material even though it wasn't her sucking in her stomach.

Diaspro glared contemptuously at the woman, "I'm seventeen."

"Seventeen! She is just a child, and now is for fun, right girl?"

Vanessa gave the woman a sharp look, barely hiding her distaste for the subject. "She is too expensive for _fun_." She practically sneered even though it was barely noticeable through the caked-on make-up. "I expect results from this gown." She gave the woman a scornful smile as the woman flinched at her work being note enough for the woman's high expectations.

The woman bowed her head submissively. "Don't worry Mrs. Peters. She will be as beautiful as stardust." She said before she returned her attention to Crystal's neckline, sticking the pins back in her mouth as she focused on the task at hand.

Vanessa finally took notice of Bloom's presence in the room by swiping her gaze from her khaki pants to the much-to-large boots that covered her feet. She scowled slightly, her lips going down in contempt at seeing Bloom again. "Why aren't you at the market?" She inquired. Translation: _Why aren't you making me money you lazy child?_ Bloom narrowed her eyes ever so slightly but bit her tongue.

"It closed down early today." Bloom cast a meaningful look at the screen above the mantel that Vanessa didn't bother following, only nodding to herself. Feigning nonchalance, Bloom pointed down the hallway. "So, I'm just going to get cleaned up, and then I'll be ready for my dress fitting." She said.

The seamstress paused. "Another dress Mrs. Peters? I did not bring enough material for another-"

"Have you replaced the magbelt on the hover yet?"

Bloom's smile faltered, "No. Not yet."

"Well then." Vanessa bit back a smile. "None of us will be able to go to the ball without transportation, now will we?"

Bloom stifled her irritation, the previous times they had already had this conversation playing back in her mind. "I need money to buy a new magbelt. It'll be 700 gems at least. If income from the market wasn't deposited directly into your account, I would have bought one by now." She said, trying to snuffle out her emotions before Vanessa could notice a hint of rebellion from her.

Vanessa placed her hands on her hips. "And trust you not to spend it all on your ridiculous and childish toys." She said _toys_ with a curl of her lip in disgust and a scowl pointed at Tecna as Tecna shrunk behind Bloom. Technically though, Tecna belonged to her but Bloom didn't dare point that out. "Besides I can't afford both a magbelt and a new dress you'll only wear once. You'll have to find some other way of fixing the hover or find your own gown for the ball."

Irritation hardened in her gut, she might have pointed out that Diaspro and Crystal could have bought already made dresses so that she could have a dress too. She might have pointed out that the girls would be wearing their dresses one time as well. She could have pointed out that it was her hard-earned money that the woman was spending. But the words died on her lips, there was no use in starting an argument. Legally, Bloom belonged to Vanessa as much as the android, her money, and the few possessions she owned. Bloom released her anger before Vanessa could see a spark of rebellion. "I may be able to offer a trade for the magbelt. I'll check with the local shops." She said instead.

Vanessa wrinkled her nose, her gaze traveling to Tecna, even as Bloom sheltered her. "Why don't we trade that worthless android for it?" From the corner of her vision Tecna shrunk even more behind her, her sensor dimming. Bloom racked her brain for something to say, rather than just pleading. Pleading would get her nowhere and meant nothing to Vanessa, other than amusement.

"We wouldn't get much for her." She said, trying to pry the emotion out of her voice, it was true, they wouldn't get much for the android and Vanessa most likely only offered the idea just to spite Bloom. "Nobody wants such an old model." Bloom said, adjusting her body to provide more protection to Tecna.

Vanessa sniffed, tapping a long nail against her chin. "Fair point. Perhaps, I will have to sell the both of you off as spare parts." Vanessa returned her attention to Diaspro's dress, fixing the unfinished hem of Diaspro's sleeve. "I don't care how you fix it, just fix it before the ball-and cheaply. I don't need that pile of junk taking up parking space, but perhaps the Prince would notice Diaspro over the rest of the harpies there." She mused the last part to herself, smirking slightly.

Bloom tucked her hand into her back pockets, hope igniting inside of her. "Are you saying that if I fix the hover and find something suitable to wear for the ball, I can really go to the ball?" She didn't want to get to excited but the idea of going to a dance, just for once, to forget about her problems sounded like the most amazing thing in the world. Maybe someone would befriend her and help her.

Vanessa's lips puckered at the corners. "It will be a miracle if you can find something suitable to wear that will hide your _eccentricities._ " Her gaze dropped to Bloom's boots as Bloom shifted slightly, resisting the urge to shiver at the venom in that single word. "But, yes, I suppose that you can go to the ball on those conditions." Vanessa said.

Crystal flashed her a stunned and cheerful smile, her eyes lighting up, while Diaspro spun on their mother. "You can't be serious! _Her_ go with _us_? Can you even imagine the rumors that people are going to say? It is going to ruin my chances of finding a husband!"

Bloom leaned against the door frame, trying to hide her disappointment from Crystal. Diaspro's outrage was pointless. A little orange light had flickered in the corner of her vision at the proclamation from Vanessa-she hadn't meant her promise. "Well." She said, attempting to look excited with a false smile of her own like she was even fooled. "I guess I'd better go find a magbelt then."

Vanessa flourished her arm at Bloom, her attention returning to Diaspro's dress as the girl silently seethed from her spot, her hands shaking and her eyes narrowed into slits. A silent dismissal from Vanessa. Bloom cast a glance at her stepsisters' sumptuous gowns before backing away from the room. She had barely turned when Crystal squealed, "Prince Sky!" Freezing, she glanced back at the netscreen. The plague alerts had been replaced with a live broadcast from the palace pressroom. Prince Sky was speaking to a crowd of journalist, both human and android.

Diaspro batted the seamstress away, "Volume on." She ordered.

"….research continues to be our top priority." The prince was saying, gripping the sides of the podium. "Our research team is determined to find a vaccine for this that has taken one of my parents and threatens to take the other, as well as tens of thousands of our citizens. The circumstances are even more desperate in face of the outbreak in the city limits. No longer can we claim that this disease is regulated to our poor, rural communities. Letumosis threatens us all and we will find a way to stop it. Only then can we begin to rebuild our economy and return Eracklyon to its former glory."

Unenthusiastic applause shifted over the entire crowd. Research on the plague had been underway since the first outbreak in a small town in Andros over a dozen years ago. It seemed very little progress had been made since that time. Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of outbreaks had unconnectedly occurred in communities throughout the universe. Hundreds of thousands had fallen ill, suffered, and eventually died. Even, Vanessa's husband had contacted it on a trip to Melody, the same time he agreed to be the guardian of an eleven-year-old cyborg named Bloom. One of her few memories of him was of him being carted away while Vanessa raved about him leaving her with this _thing_.

Vanessa never talked about her husband, and few memories of him lingered in the apartment. One of the only reminders that he even existed was on the mantel, a row of awards that showed him winning the science fair, three-years running, medallions and statutes alike. Although whatever he invented had clearly not taken off since he left his family little to no money upon his untimely death.

On the screen, the prince's speech was cut short. A stranger ran onto the platform and handed him a note with an expression of sympathy. The prince read the note before his eyes clouded over and the screen blackened. The pressroom was replaced with a desk before a blue screen. A woman sat behind it, her expression solemn and her knuckles whitened from clutching the desk.

"We interrupt his imperial highness's press conference with an update on his imperial majesty King Erendor. The king's physicians have just informed us that his majesty has entered the third stage of Letumosis." The woman said stonily. The seamstress pulled the pins from her mouth, gasping. Bloom pressed herself against the door frame. Guilt washed over her, she hadn't offered the prince her condolences or wishes that the king would get better. He must think that she was so insensitive, so ignorant. "We are told that everything is being done to ensure his imperial majesty's comfort at this time, and palace officials tell us that researchers are working nonstop to find a cure. Volunteers are still urgently needed for antidote testing."

The woman took a minute to breath as Bloom felt herself sag against the door, shock had washed over everyone in the room. Probably everyone in the universe was reeling from the same shock. She couldn't believe this, closing her eyes she mentally kicked herself, she should have said something kinder to the prince, the glare she had given him. She had glared at someone who was losing the last of his blood. It made her feel even more guilty.

"There has been some controversy regarding the thousandths anniversary ball due to the king's illness. Prince Sky says that the preparations for the ball will continue as scheduled and he hopes it will bring some joy to this otherwise tragic time." The anchor paused, hesitating, even with the prompter before her. Her face softened and her voice had a warble in it as she muttered. "Long live the king."

The seamstress muttered the same words back to the ancho. The screen went black again before it returned to the pressroom, but Prince Sky had left the podium. Reporters were in an upheaval as they told the tragic news to their individual cameras. "I know a cyborg who would volunteer for testing." Diaspro said, smirking at Bloom. "Why wait for the draft?" Diaspro asked continuing to look down on Bloom.

Bloom leveled Diaspro with a glare, who was nearly seven inches shorter than she was, despite being over a year older. "Excellent idea. Then _you_ can get a job to pay for your pretty dress." Bloom said frostily.

Diaspro snarled at her, "They reimburse the families wirehead." Bloom had already known how much money would be paid and even then, that money would eventually go out if she was to be volunteered, they would soon have to get a job. But she bit her tongue, trying to ease her anger at Diaspro. She clutched the doorframe tightly, her knuckles whitening.

The cyborg draft had started over a year ago by some royal research team. Every morning a new ID was drawn from the pool of the thousands of cyborgs who resided in Eracklyon. Subjects had been carted in and out of the lab facilities, some came in alive and never came out and some came in alive and were not given the plague, but those were rarities. They were told it was an honor to serve for the good of humanity but all it was, was a bitter reminder that they weren't like anyone else. They had been given second chances at life by the generous hands of scientists and therefore owed their own existence to those who created them.

"We can't volunteer Bloom." Crystal cut in, bunching her skirt in her hands "I need her to fix my portscreen." Diaspro rolled her eyes and turned away from the both of them. Crystal scrunched her nose at her sister's back, not liking the way that her elder sister had talked to Bloom.

"Stop bickering." Vanessa said waving a handing dismissingly, "Crystal, you're wrinkling your skirt."

Bloom backed out of the room, finally. Tecna was two steps ahead of her, eager to escape the presence of Vanessa and Diaspro. She appreciated the fact that Crystal had come to her defense but in the end, it wouldn't matter. Vanessa would never volunteer her for testing because it would be the end of her only source of income, and Bloom was positive her stepmother had never worked a day in her life. But, if the draft chose her, no one could do anything about it. And lately, it seemed a disproportionate number of cyborgs had been chosen from Eracklyon and the surrounding planets.

Every time one of those draft victims was a teenage girl. Bloom imagined a clock ticking inside of her head.


End file.
